Challenges to Collaboration

[sherrym35962383]

Hello everyone

I just wanted to know why there's been no Collaborative Features added by Adobe for Illustrator. Is there not a strong enough demand for it? I personally have faced it a few times when working in a team on a single file. Besides CC being there, what else does Illustrator offer to collaborate? I am kind of new to Illustrator but have seen other products afford collaboration easily and intuitively. What stops Illustrator from doing so?

[Monika Gause]

sherrym35962383  schrieb

I personally have faced it a few times

Maybe that is the reason? "A few times" might just not be enough.

BTW: You could ask for it on http://illustrator.uservoice.com Make sure you give an exact explanation of the workflow you want to achieve.

And maybe you want to try the CC libraries.

[sherrym35962383]

Monika Gause,

Thanks for the response. I am kind of new but have faced it a few times already, I guess that is what I meant. But have you come across such challenges, I'm basically looking for a workaround!:P I I have tried CC Libraries though.  So it would be great if you could help with that.

[SJRiegel]

Can you explain what sort of collaborative tools you are looking for?

In all of the years I've been doing this, I have never had the need for more than one team member to make changes to any individual file. When we collaborate, it's more like one person doing the photo work, one doing the illustrations, one doing the writing, and then one putting it all together in the final file.

[jdanek]

Didn't Adobe try to create an application right around the time CS2 came out for collaboration?  I just cannot remember the name of it, but I am sure it came bundled in CS; but never got off the ground.

[Ton Frederiks]

Version Cue was that application.

It made versions of files (like the files saved in the CC files folder had (and will have again sometime in the future).

It allowed collaboration on the same file with check in and check out (which no designer liked to do).

And when you saved a file and someone else restored an older version you got the can of worms that Monika mentioned (especially when another file was placed into the file you were collaborating on (a can of worms inside another can of worms).

I believe the underlying technology is still used in some 3rd party workflow management tools.

[Ton Frederiks]

jdanek  wrote

Didn't Adobe try to create an application right around the time CS2 came out for collaboration?  I just cannot remember the name of it, but I am sure it came bundled in CS; but never got off the ground.

I did not mention an earlier attempt: InScope

Adobe Hits Up Publishers with Innovative InScope Product | Macworld

[sherrym35962383]

SJRiegel​ It could be anything. Let's say making a detailed illustration of a scene with multiple characters and complex environment.This will require multiple people across different distances . With that assumption, how can people work at the same time, thereby increasing productivity.  Also, do you think collaboration in Illustrator is use case dependent, which is why it has not happened so far? Too complex a tool for collaboration?

[Monika Gause]

sherrym35962383  schrieb

SJRiegel  It could be anything.

So several people having the same file open on different computers?

And every time one of them makes an update to the file, the file gets updated in all places?

Looks like a huge can of worms ...

[Bobby Henderson]

If multiple designers are working in collaboration on a single design, illustration or whatever the project can quickly, angrily head into conflict without a human being manager involved. A design manager has to dictate to each team member which elements/assets in the project they should be developing as well as any changes that need to be made to make the whole thing look at least somewhat consistent. No two designers or illustrators have the exact same design sensibilities. Without a manager involved one designer might go "fixing" the work of other team members. A really big project that requires multiple people may require a design manual laying down the standards on how various elements should look.

On any big publication it's usually best to have each person on the team "staying in his own lane." One person might work on spot illustrations. Someone else may set the type. Another may do the photography. Then you have senior designers and managers working on big picture view decisions. Software can't really provide a good substitute for that. Someone has to be the boss.

[redwards_]

why not have a 'master document' with linked files.... 'background' 'house' 'foreground'

and separate people edit them and save changes to a specific network drive... the 'master document' will update the changes in there and you can see how everyone's stuff is coming together

[Bobby Henderson]

Sharing "master files" can already be done in various ways. It's possible directly on a local area network with the master files resident on a file server. Various cloud-based systems (such as Dropbox) can share files. Finally Creative Cloud itself has collaboration functions built into Creative Cloud Libraries:
Collaborate on folders and libraries from Creative Cloud account

The concern I explained earlier had nothing to do about the physical ability to share/collaborate with the same file or project files. My concern has to do with the fact no two creative workers are alike or have the same design sensibilities. Any project that requires multiple designers will also need someone being the "boss," "senior designer" or whatever to guide the collaborative process, maintain design consistency & quality and resolve possible conflicts between designers. Software alone cannot perform that function.

[redwards_]

Oh sorry must have misread as more technical oriented originally.

But any media-job is like that.. need SOME kind of a lead...art director, producer... someone drives the ship and calls out what is relevant asset-wise and cuts out the rest/helps people avoid lesser parts.

I know adobe cc has plans for 'teams' which cost more... where I am currently we dropped that plan after a year... not terribly useful for the stuff they do.

But yeah you say it best

BobbyH5280  wrote

Software alone cannot perform that function.

that's why people have 'brand bibles'/look books, style sheets etc... so they can outsource to practically anyone... and then curate all the assets them selves in house or after their team/department is done with the grunt work... it all needs to go thru some master-filter/lens.. and that is always a person with a specific goal in mind. (director, senior designer, whomever fits best for a client as lead)

Even by the time software gets closer to that, they will just re-hash things humans have designed/massaged a certain way for a look/feel

Things like sharing swatches/asset files really only save people from obvious mistakes/helps to curb some of the miscommunication emails/remote work have inherent in them.

obviously more solo people/with smaller teams can't do it to extremes but someone should always be steering it, never let the software dictate your 'look'/way you execute the project... leave that for junior designers haha

[sherrym35962383]

Curious as to why you guys decided to drop it after a year. I don't think there's any software out there which really enables collaboration at a technical as well as a non-technical level. Were you expecting something more out of it?

[redwards_]

More to do with the team in-house they aren't too sympathetic to the 'features'.. and rarely used them in practice.
Ended up going unused so we couldn't justify that 'tier' of the plan. So more of a human-factor here than probably most other places

[sherrym35962383]

Monika Gause​ BobbyH5280​ SJRiegel​ jdanek​  If we take any product out of the picture what does collaboration mean to designers? How have you collaborated in past and how are you collaborating currently?

[Monika Gause]

sherrym35962383  schrieb

what does collaboration mean to designers?

The question was what collabortion means to you.

You still have not answered.

[sherrym35962383]

I'm sorry, I'm not quite sure what you mean. I am using designers and you synonymously. Apologies for the confusion. I am asking what collaboration means to designers independent of a product. If you're asking me what it means to me, I think it is vague, I am looking at it as a deliberate process to work with people in order to arrive at an outcome. Can there be purposeless collaboration, I don't know!